I
studied Zachary to see if he was serious. He looked
serious. Cold and detached, and I suddenly couldn't feel him
anymore. Like he meant it.
I
bit my lip. Looked like there was another relationship in my life that
I couldn't trust. Ditched by my best friend in sixth grade, ditched
by my aunt. Ditched by my sister and my mother... and now Zachary was
offering me up as demon food in exchange for his own backside.
Monster
Jacobus smiled coldly. "That might lengthen my sentence, but you
realize you'll still take her place in the end."
Zachary
shrugged. "Rae is tough. By the time she's sucked dry, I'll have
had my family and be an old man. I'll come take her place then, as
pennance for my rashness."
Jake's
smile lengthened. "Very well. I was hoping to draw on the power
of your connection, but the anger that comes from a broken heart is
more powerful still. I accept your ransom."
"Wait,"
I said, "I don't agree to this." I glared at Zachary. "You
jerk." I slammed my heel down on his foot and his eyes
grew wide and glassy.
He
lurched past Jake in the direction of the altar, and then everything
went kind of haywire.
Zachary
caught himself against the stone and the bracelets and miscellanea slid off the altar. The ghosts swarmed him, catching at their
possessions. A brilliant glow lit the cavern as each soul rejoined
with their ransom. They all looked so... happy.
The spirits blinked out, and my reality crashed down on my head. I drowned out Jake's protest with my shriek. "What are you doing? Those were my ancestors. Are you trying to make me the loneliest chick on the planet?"
The spirits blinked out, and my reality crashed down on my head. I drowned out Jake's protest with my shriek. "What are you doing? Those were my ancestors. Are you trying to make me the loneliest chick on the planet?"
"Give
your mom the ring," he called.
I
froze.
And
that was our undoing, because another earthquake the size of the
Carolinas shook the chamber and a bunch of dirt rained down into my
face. But that wasn't the scary part. The scary part was the gigantic
rocky hand that grew out of the new crack in the altar and lit the
room with flame.
"You'll
still have a few companions left," Jake laughed behind me. He
wrapped my ponytail into a tight ball in his fist and yanked my head
back so I was looking down my nose at the growing apparition. "Say
hello to your next meal, Dagon," he said.
"Excuse
me?" I asked.
"Rachel,
meet the baker of Hell."
He
did know my name.
"Baker?"
I said, blowing dirt out of my face. "We've come to an all-time low in demon summoning."
Jake
yanked on my ponytail. "Not at all. Dagon's specialty are the
fresh souls he feeds to Beelzebub for his Sabbath dinner. Not that
you will have that honor. Dagon takes a bit of energy to keep his own
creative appetite humming. In return for your energy, he will grant
me a percentage of your soul's power."
"You
could have been an accountant," I said, as the rest of the demon
jumped down off the altar. The figure was smaller than I'd imagined
from the size of the hand. He was a canny match with Jake almost, as
if Jake and the demon camped together inside Hell's oven. The demon
wasn't so much bubbled lava rock as a conglomeration of scars and
blisters and nasty burns. One eye squinted and the other just wasn't
there anymore.
The
demon made a disgusting choking noise. "Double the feast?"
"I
tried," Jake said, "but the one offered the other. She's
angry, though. She should last a long time."
"Looks
like you'll have to wait a little longer for your escapade,"
Dagon grunted, and Jake grunted in return. Grunt must be their secret
buddy language.
"You
know, I didn't agree to this," I said again, trying not to wince
as I pulled my head forward. Jake--or was it the demon?--smelled
disgusting. He kept his grip on my hair tight.
The
demon chuckled. "It doesn't matter. You are here. Bring her to
me."
Jake
stepped forward and I stumbled along with him. Zachary crawled from
where he'd huddled out the dirt storm and stretched out a palm.
"Shouldn't
she be my offering?" he asked coldly.
I
gave him my most withering look and stepped past him, but Jake pulled
my leash.
"Technically,
yes," he said. "But after that little stunt of yours, I
don't believe I can trust you. Insignificant as it was."
"The
demon can't accept her unless the ransom comes from me. How else am I
supposed to get out of here?" He sounded whiny. I'd never heard
him sound whiny before.
"True.
Very well, you may take her to the altar." He let out a burst of
noise. "Take her to the altar, get it?" He laughed as
though it were uproariously funny. "Mrs. Corman," he
called, "come and watch your daughter take her vows."
My
mother floated between Zachary and I, looking so thin she was going
to disappear any second. Her face looked utterly disapproving... and
desperate. A glow of anger warmed me--anger at her frailty, anger
that if she stretched any finger to help, the juice would be sucked
from her. I couldn't let Dagon get to her first. We still had words
to say, she and I.
"Get
out of the way, Mama," I said, as Zachary grabbed at the chain
around my neck and yanked me forward. I eyed daggers at him. He
tugged harder so the chain left a practically permanent line on the
back of my neck.
I
wasn't that dense, I knew he wanted me to give it to her. But if I
was going to spend a lifetime down here, I wanted a heart-to-heart with my mama before she disappeared forever. Or at least some advice.
I'd gotten over mourning, remember?
I'd gotten over mourning, remember?
I
stopped in my tracks and Zachary raised his eyebrows. I took the
opportunity to stamp my heel on his other foot. He tumbled over,
releasing me, and I straightened my back with dignity.
"By your own rules," I announced loudly, "I get to offer my own ransom."
"By your own rules," I announced loudly, "I get to offer my own ransom."